Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 44

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 44

ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR TRADE

EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS ACT 1974

EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Subsection 43(1) of the Export Market Development Grants Act 1974 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters prescribed or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Act provides grants to Australian residents who have incurred expenditure promoting overseas Australian goods, services, industrial property rights, and know how. Access to grants is relatively free of limitations with respect to the overseas markets in which promotional activity may be undertaken. Exporters, however, are limited, inter alia, to eight grants under the Act.

The Export Market Development Grants Amendment Act 1992 (the Amendment Act) amended the Act to provide that Australian exporters who have achieved their eight grant maximum, and who meet certain criteria, may receive additional grants in respect of "new markets".

A "new market" is defined essentially on a country/product basis. Access to a country is allowed where the exporter's export earnings in respect of goods, services, industrial property rights, and know how, in respect of that country, over a specified past period of time, do not exceed a specified amount.

The past period of time, and the amount, are set down in the Amendment Act (three years immediately preceding, and $300,000/$1 million).

The definition of those goods, services, property rights and know how eligible for "new market" access, however, are not set down in the Amendment Act, but, in terms of subsection 15(8), must be prescribed by Regulation. These Regulations define those goods, services, industrial property rights and know how, eligible in terms of subsection 15(8).

The Regulations do not provide for any expansion of those categories of goods, services, industrial property rights, and know how allowed for under the general provisions of the Act, and the retrospectivity of the Regulations does not disadvantage any person in terms of subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.